First Pond in Washington

[addy1]

The rain does make things green jw! I have no uv, but do have a bog, never have massive amounts of algae like string or green water. Like jw says some say they can't live without them ow green water.

 

[MO3N]

I just looked at the lights again and they are each 40 watt pond master uv lights like this one So it looks like if nothing else I have a few hundred dollars in equipment with 3 of them.

I never used them in my fish tanks but I have heard they can help. I figure because I have them I might as well use them....they wont cause any damage will they?

and if I do use it is it better to run it off my main large stream pump or on a smaller slower pump.......or does it matter what flow rate goes through the light?

thank you for all the posts

 

[MO3N]

Well I got a pump from harbor freight that flows 2000 GPH just to get a little water movement. when i was putting the pump in I found out there is about a foot of sludge at the bottom of the pond. I will need to get a trash pump to try and pump all this out of the pond to get the water back to a clean and clear state.

I also have a case of green water. I think because I stirred up the bottom and it caused a bloom.

my next step I think are:
getting a bulb for the UV filters and add that to help reduce my green water algae bloom.
pump out the bottom of the pond.
add bog plants to the small stream that feeds my pond.
look into getting another larger pump for more water flow.

 

[addy1]

From what I read in postings about uv lights, you want slower flow through them. I have also read that you can run them just while the green bloom is going then turn it off. They don't need to run all of the time.
Do you have fish in there? if so be careful about stirring up the muck, it will stink and has anaerobic bacteria that can harm your fish. At least with a trash pump it will get sucked up and out. I saved some fish from a foreclosure, that water stunk had a oil slick on it when we were trying to net the fish.

The plants in the stream will help with filtering the water. I just filter with a bog full of plants, no algae issues last year, none so far this year.

 

[MO3N]

There is one fish in the pond that was put in by the previous owner. I knew it would be bad to stir up the bottom but I had to get the pumps out and there was a few trees/branches sitting on the bottom that I wanted to get out as well. I will look into the recommended flow rate for my UV Light. that's good to know that slower usually works better.

I think next weekend I will rent a large trash pump and see if I can clean the bottom up a little bit. do you think I could put the stuff that gets pumped out around a flower bed or will that not help much?

 

[j.w]

Oh yes you could dig that stuff in around your flowers and your plants will thank you for the nice meal! I wouldn't just leave it lay on top of the soil tho cuz it has a tendency to crust up when it dries out in the hot sun.

 

[addy1]

Like jw says your plants will be happy happy happy

 

[MO3N]

Ok thank you for the info. I will be renting a trash pump this Saturday to get the stuff out of the bottom. I hope it helps clean the water up a bit.

I am also currently researching the best way to add an external pump to my pond. I do not think I will be able to dig it below water level so ill probably need a self priming pump?

 

[addy1]

Self primers work, also having a check valve to keep the plumbing full of water will help. My self primer is right at water level, no issues with losing prime. My plumbing comes up and over the edge of the pond, not through the pond wall.

 

[taherrmann4]

My self priming is about 18" above water level and I dont have any problems. I would install a check valve if I were doing it all over again, currently when I shut mine down it siphons all the water in the lines back into the pond.

 

[MO3N]

Thank you for the information. I think I can manage to get the pump at water level or at least within one foot. Through my research I think I can use a priming pot/leaf trap with a check valve inside to pond and that will be enough to keep the pump primed.

I think I have decided that a sequence 4200 will work for my pump. My plan is to run the pump up about 6-8 feet vertical head to a bog section that is about 4 feet wide by 6 feet long. this will be filled with plants to help filter my water. Then the bog will empty to a stream roughly 2 feet wide that will end up working its way back to the pond. It looks like this pump with that head will flow around 2000 to 2500 GPH, do you think this will be enough for this bog/stream idea?

I know that I will need a lot more plants then just this small section to really filter out my pond but this is a good start.

also would it be a good to put my pump inlet pipe on the opposite end of the pond from where the stream enters? for example if my stream enters the pond in the north side then should my inlet for my pump be placed on the south end?

 

[addy1]

My pump is 4200gph (evolution series) , my bog is around 27x5, pond around 10k gallons. That pump does a great job in keeping the pond water in great shape, no algae good water tests. I have a turn over rate of around every 2 hours.

Yes have your inlet for the pump as far from where the stream enters, gives you good water movement in the pond. No "stagnant" areas.

 

[MO3N]

Thank you for the pump Advice. I like that pump it has good flow but is still pretty cheap.

on saturday I will be renting a trash pump to get the bottom a little cleaner. hopefully that will help with overall water quality.

I thought I would take some pictures to post up here.

Here is the inflow from the natural pond above. I have added a pump to this waterfall to help with the flow. not sure if you can see in the picture but I have a bad case of green water.

The next few pictures are the part of the pond that I will be focusing most of my effort on. I want to add the stream/bog that I talked about earlier. I am just not sure what part of this hill I want to put the stream on. I would also like to add a rocks along the edge of the pond to make the edge look a little cleaner.

Thank You for all the help.

 

[j.w]

Looks so nice and you are so lucky you didn't have to dig anything. The stream will be great for helping as a filter in itself. Love all the ferns and natural vegetation. If you need rocks there is a place out here by us that sells them for cheap or used to anyway and you could hand pick the rocks and put in your pick up. It's called Smokey Point Concrete and it's out here in Arlington off of Dike road. Now it's been awhile since we've been there so hope they still have the big rocks and at a good price. Here is there # if you want to ask them what they have now: (360) 435-5791

 

[addy1]

That is very pretty and will even be nicer with the changes you are talking about